Champions League: Lewandowski hits Barça hat-trick, Griezmann floors Porto
Robert Lewandowski struck a hat-trick in his first Champions League game for Barcelona to power the Catalan club to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday.
Midfielder Franck Kessie put Barça in front in the 13th minute and Lewandowski extended their lead with a rightfooted finish into the bottom corner in the 37th.
The Poland striker produced a diving header from an Ousmane Dembélé cross to score again in firsthalf stoppage time and restore Barca’s two-goal cushion after Jan Sykora’s header had pulled the Czech champions back into contention.
Lewandowski completed his treble midway through the second half, meeting a layoff from Ferran Torres and curling the ball inside the far post first-time.
Torres completed a satisfying evening for Xavi’s side by scoring the fifth goal to put Barca top of Group C. They head to Lewandowski’s former club Bayern Munich next week, when Plzen host Internazionale.
Inter were beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich in Milan, as Leroy Sané scored one goal and forced an own goal.
The Germany international Sané superbly controlled a pinpoint Joshua Kimmich cross before rounding goalkeeper André Onana, who was making his debut for the club, to give Bayern the lead in the 25th minute.
Sané also took credit for their second goal after dismantling the Inter defence with a lightning-quick double one-two with Kingsley Coman in the 66th before his shot was turned into the net by the Inter captain Danilo D’Ambrosio.
Bayern, who bounced back following two consecutive draws in the
Bundesliga, host Barcelona next week, while Inter, who have now lost their last two matches following their derby loss to Milan on Saturday, take on Viktoria Plzen.
In Spain, a goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time by Antoine Griezmann earned Atlético Madrid a 2-1 Group B home win against 10-man Porto after a frantic end to the match.
With the sides meeting in the competition’s opening group fixture for the second year in a row, they were locked at 0-0 as the game went into added time.
Atlético defender Mario Hermoso opened the scoring when his deflected shot from the edge of the box left Porto keeper Diogo Costa helpless.
The Porto midfielder Mateus Uribe levelled four minutes later from a penalty before substitute Griezmann sealed victory for the hosts with a close-range header in the 101st minute.
Atlético are level on three points in Group B with Club Brugge, who beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0.
In Group D, Eintracht Frankfurt’s long-awaited first match in the Champions League was spoiled by a 3-0 defeat at home to Sporting.
The English forward Marcus Edwards put the Portuguese side in front in the 65th minute and two minutes later laid on the pass for Francisco Trincão to double the visitors’ lead.
Nuno Santos deepened the hosts’ misery by grabbing a third goal in the 82nd minute after impressive play from Pedro Porro down the right wing.
Eintracht were European Cup runners-up in 1960 but had not previously reached the modern version of the competition until they qualified for this season’s edition as winners of the Europa League.
There were 51,000 fans crammed into the stadium and they almost got off to the dream start when Randal Kolo Muani pounced on a soft back pass but the French forward was thwarted by goalkeeper Antonio Adán.
Sporting won a penalty in the 15th minute when Edwards went down in the area but the referee overturned his decision after being advised by the VAR to review the pitchside monitor.
Sporting host Tottenham Hotspur next on 13 September while Frankfurt visit Olympique de Marseille.
Club Brugge beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at the Jan Breydel Stadium with a goal from defender Abakar Sylla late in the first half after the goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky fell with the ball over the line from a corner.